Spring Green, WI, has two big Wisconsin Attractions: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin and House on the Rock. House on the Rock is known as one of the more unique and quirky Wisconsin attractions and is worth a road trip. House on the Rock is a very unique experience and a Wisconsin attraction like no other.

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Why House on the Rock is a Must-See in Wisconsin

When describing House on the Rock, several cliches come to mind, and they’re true: You won’t believe your eyes. You have to see it to believe it. Nothing prepared us for the House on the Rock Alex Jordan built or the odd and intriguing collections we saw on the tour. At times, it was fascinating, and other times, it was more than a little creepy, like when this band made of mannequins was playing in the picture below.

Don’t Confuse Taliesin with House on the Rock

This may seem obvious to some, but we must tell you that from the time she saw the billboard advertising House on the Rock until after the tour, Kelly thought we were going to a Frank Lloyd Wright home. 

THE Frank Lloyd Wright home, Taliesin in Spring Green, WI. I spent hours and days after the tour confused because I assumed a Frank Lloyd Wright home would be more minimalist. The House on the Rock is certainly not minimalist.  

I also couldn’t figure out why we kept reading about Alex Jordan in the Alex Jordan portion of the tour. When would we learn about Frank Lloyd Wright, I wondered? 

It turns out I’m not alone. This excellent article from Taliesin Preservation explains the confusion. We still laugh about this, as we didn’t expect to be a little creeped out by touring a Frank Lloyd Wright home. 

The Infinity Room at House on the Rock

The infinity room is built on a 60-foot chunk of rock. Walk to Inspiration Point, which is part of the tour, and see it from below.

This Infinity Room soars 156 feet above the valley floor and has stunning views of the Wyoming Valley.

The walls are made up of 3,264 windows. During our fall visit, it was a little windy inside, and we could feel it as we neared the tip of the infinity room.

Tour Options at House on the Rock 

There are three tours available. We recommend the Ultimate Experience, the most expensive and comprehensive tour. We break everything down for you below. 

House on the Rock Tour Options

Here is the breakdown of the sections mentioned in the various tours.

Section 1: Alex Jorda, Center, Asian Garden, Original House, The Gate House, Infinity Room, and Japanese Gardens. 

Section 2: Tribute to Nostalgia, Alex Jordan Center, Asian Garden, Original House, The Gate House, Spirit of Aviation, Music of Yesterday, Streets of Yesterday, The Mill House, Infinity Room, The Carousel, Japanese Gardens, Heritage of the Sea

Section 3: Tribute to Nostalgia, Alex Jordan Center, Asian Garden, Original House, The Gate House, Spirit of Aviation, Music of Yesterday, Streets of Yesterday, The Mill House, ORgan Room, Inspiration Point, Doll House Room, Circus Room, The Galleries, The Doll Carousel Room, Infinity Room, The Carousel, Japanese Gardens, Heritage of the Sea

Ultimate Experience: The cost is $36.95 per adult. This tour is self-guided and includes Sections 1, 2, and 3. You should allow at least 3 hours for it.

The Highlight Experience: The cost is $29.95 per adult. This tour includes Sections 1 and 2.

The Original House Experience: The cost is $19.95 per adult. This tour includes the original house, the Alex Jordan Center, and the Asian Garden. 

Read more about tour details and prices here. 

Related: Visit the most Cornish town in America. Charming Mineral Point is just 18 miles south.  Book and unwind from everything you saw at House on the Rock at this gorgeous boutique hotel. 

Who Built House on the Rock? Getting to Know Alex Jordan

To quote Alex Jordan, the man behind The House on the Rock, “one thing just sort of led to another.” That statement will make great sense when you tour House on the Rock.

It’s said that if Jordan wanted something, he had to have it, and that was quite evident when touring all the rooms. 

The House on the Rock was a self-taught artist who wanted to build a cozy and rustic studio on top of a pinnacle called Deer Shelter Rock. His studio gained attention, and he eventually opened it to visitors in 1959 and charged a small fee. 

Others say House on the Rock was built in spite of Frank Lloyd Wright, the famed architect whose famous Taliesen is in Spring Green. Jordan’s father was an architect who had a beef with Frank Lloyd Wright. 

Either way, people flocked to see his House on the Rock. By the 1980s, he had acquired a mechanical orchestra and the world’s largest carousel, and he was attracting 500,000 people a year to House on the Rock. 

One could call him a hoarder or a curator of his whims. What was most fascinating to us was the kind of money he had to begin all these collections.

A fascinating fact is that Jordan never intended for House on the Rock to be a museum but rather a collection of his favorite things that would entertain his house guests. He realized he had a real oddity on his hands that he could charge people to see, and he did just that.

Alex Jordan sold the House on The Rock for $17.5 million less than a year before he died in 1989, at 75, to the current owners, the Donaldson Family. The Donaldsons turned the House on the Rock into a museum that would be open to the public.

Here are some books about Alex Jordan if you want to learn more. 

Alex Jordan: Architect of His Own, Dream Never Enough, The House on the Rock Spring Green, WI, The House on the Rock 

What to expect at House on the Rock

Expect the unexpected when you tour the House on the Rock. There’s good reason this is one of Wisconsin’s quirkiest attractions.

If you’ve heard of the show or book called American Gods, you’ll recognize the carousel from House on the Rock. Author Neil Gaiman visited House on the Rock and was so intrigued and baffled by it that he partially filmed Season 2 of American Gods at the carousel.

This is the largest indoor carousel in the world. It’s 8 feet wide, has 20,000 lights, 182 chandeliers, 269 animals, and not one single horse. 

The Original House

The original house had 13 rooms. Here are two: one with a sunken living room and the other with knights in armor statues.

Heritage of the Sea Room at House on the Rock

Over 200 model ships, including a Titanic model, are in the Sea Room House. The main centerpiece is a 200-foot sea monster that visitors will see from all angles from a ramped walkway that takes you through this room. The sea monster is as long as the Statue of Liberty is tall.

The Circus Room at House on the Rock

If you enjoy a circus, you may be intrigued by the Circus Room at Hosue on the Rock.

Japanese Gardens at House on the Rock

After seeing all of the odd collections inside, it was so strange to exit and see a beautiful and normal-looking Asian and Japanese Garden. It was such a stark contrast to all of the weird things we had just spent three hours looking at inside House on the Rock. After you exit the final building, you come out with access.

The Infinity Room from Inspiration Point

For an entirely different perspective, walk to Inspiration Point, where you can see the Infinity Room and see why it’s aptly named House on the Rock.

Is House on the Rock Worth Visiting?

You should put this Wisconsin attraction on your list of things to do. It’s been several years since our visit, and we still think about all the weird oddities we saw. During our October visit to House on the Rock, they were both pretty and enhanced with fall colors. You have to see House on the Rock for yourself to believe it. We recommend a visit to House on the Rock.   

Find House on the Rock- a Unique Wisconsin Attraction

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Plan For Your Visit to House on the Rock in Spring Green, WI